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Tag Archives: biology

For most of the year Caño Cristales, located in central Colombia, looks like any other nice, pure mountain river flowing with crystal clear cool water over smooth river rocks and brilliant beds of green moss and algae. Then, for a couple weeks of the year, Caño Cristales turns into undoubtedly one of the most beautiful rivers in the world. During a brief period between the Colombian wet and dry seasons (from Sept. – Nov.), the water level evens off and allows its unique Macarenia Clavigera plant to bloom like gorgeous fields of underwater red roses among golden wheat. The bloom accentuates the yellows and greens of the algae, moss and sediments on the river bottom and the deep browns and blacks of the river rocks and shelves that have formed over the ages. The result is an array of colors that looks more like an artistic swirl of Skittles or melted Crayola Crayons than a naturally occurring event below a few feet of river water. It is truly stunning.

I have always been fascinated by sharks. I must have read the shark Zoobooks at least 100 times as a young’n, and when we would visit family in Hawaii, I would sit and stare with my mouth wide open staring at the sharks at the local aquariums and their massive jagged jaws. The sleek cold beauty of a shark is simply unmatched in nature. Due to the ridiculous excitement over Discovery Channel’s Shark Week every year, I don’t think I am the only one with an affinity for these aquatic dinosaurs. As a result, I think we are all fairly well educated on the crazy biological developments in sharks that make them the ultimate seafaring predator. However, I recently came across one fact that makes sharks even more badass – baby sharks battle it out in the womb to be the chosen one.

In the past 100 years, the average life expectancy of a human has nearly doubled. There many factors that have allowed this to happen, such as improvements in sanitation, better knowledge of nutrition, and general advances in medical technology, but one of the largest factors has undoubtedly been our concerted effort to eradicate some of the most deadliest diseases on Earth. To date there have been eight diseases targeted for eradication; two of those programs have been successful, two are ongoing, and the remaining four have been abandoned. But with greater technology and resources being devoted to eradication efforts every day, we could soon live in a disease-free future.

Good morning class, and happy new year! I’m sure many of you were out celebrating like it was 1999 (or just 2012), and as a result, you may have been feeling a bit under the weather this morning. Of course, I’m talking about the kind of “sickness” that was totally self-inflicted when you consumed tee many martoonies while ringing in 2013. So what are these awful things we all know as hangovers, and how do we get rid of them once and for all? Unfortunately, neither question can be definitively answered, but don’t fret – we here at *AT* care about your health as well as your sinful habits so we will do our best to answer them.

Lesson One: What Causes a Hangover?

There is anecdotal evidence that no two hangovers were created equally, and the reason before this is that there are probably a variety of conditions that come together to form a perfect storm of hatred within your own body. Headaches, nausea, sensitivity to light, fatigue, increased heart rate and respiration, and of course, vomiting, are all symptoms that may or may not appear in differing degrees of severity.

Don’t Worry, Not These Immortals… If you haven’t seen this movie, btw, DON’T. It is god awful.

Scientists have theorized that there are animals which, if left to their own devices, could live forever. These organisms are considered to be “biologically immortal.” Seafood Lovers, there is a treat for you at the end of the post. Continue reading →